A brief encounter

EGYPT

I had no idea what to expect coming to Egypt. I’d heard all these stories about how dangerous it was, tourists getting kidnapped, countless acts of abuse and or harassment, riots, killings and so on... So wasn’t I in for a shock when wherever I went there was nothing but greetings of “Welcome! Welcome to Egypt! Where are you from? Jamaica?! Alaska?!”

We all worked like Trojans, just got stuck right into it... there was no time for slacking off - so many four legged(s) were in dire need of assistance; many of which were so far gone it’s a wonder they even had the will to stand let alone work. I’d have wanted to curl up in a dark corner and pray to never see the light of day again! Though I guess these poor creatures simply knew no better.

It wasn’t all shock horror tragic cases though, there were some beautiful, well fed, glossy, too much energy, ‘I’m too big for my boots’ Arabians or should I say ‘Dancing Horses’ – a total contrast in amongst the dehydrated, emaciated working horses. It really makes you wonder doesn’t it?

I’d often wonder to myself – are we really making a difference? We’re here for just three weeks, treating these animals left, right and centre... What will happen when we leave? Will they just revert back to the way they were before?

All was not in vain however; Chloe and I had two kids (Mohammad (7-8) and Moses (12)) who joined us in cleaning and treating wounds. It was a start! They wanted to help as much as possible and in return we tought them as much as was feasible. Now we can only hope they took home a little of what they learnt.

Another encouraging moment was when owners would bring their animals back for revisits and by the end of the three weeks we began to notice some definite improvements. Some were very concerned for the wellbeing of their animal and the reoccurring trend seemed to be that they simply did not know what to do...

Of course, there were those too that just wanted to hawker in on the free treatment in hope of free goods and around the corner out of sight saddles would be swung back on, whips cracked and hooves squabbling for grip on the concrete roads as they were forced to gallop flat tack to god knows where.

The vets we worked with were amazing, they worked hard and were open to learn as much as possible form our vets, dentists, farriers’ and nurses.

One fond memory that stands out to me was when two of the younger vets last minuite asked if we wanted to go horse riding into the desert. I was not going to let this opportunity pass me by regardless of how knackered I was! I dragged Chloe (who was feeling rather sick) to come along with me (she also had no choice in the matter – I wasn’t letting her pass this up for anything!) unfortunately everyone else was too exhausted... So we met the vets, checked our noble steeds were in fine form (we would not get on anything that had any sign of emaciation or pain of any shape or form) and proceeded to ride through the back alley streets, past stables, stores – literally through people’s homes so to speak, at one point we rode through what looked to be the beginning of a shindig (there were massive speakers blasting the latest U.K. pop songs and people sitting around smoking their shisha pipes and drinking tea)... on past a Muslim cemetery (which sadly looked more like a rubbish dump), around a few more bends and we were into the open!

We were up over the dunes in no time and the view of the pyramids was nothing short of spectacular. I don’t think they could ever cease to impress me!

After a short rest where we had marvelled at the landscape (we could see more pyramids in the distance, not to mention the endless city of Cairo in the other direction), we were back in the saddle and heading back before darkness set in singing “...riding through the desert on my horse with no name...” by the America’s, coincidently we didn’t know the names of our horses! Well, more precisely we couldn’t actually remember the names the young guide had told us before we embarked on our Lawrence of Arabia adventure!

It’s one thing going somewhere as a tourist but to actually immerse yourself in the culture and do as the locals do is a whole other ball game. Working with the charities was incredibly rewarding; I learnt so much and have so much to take away with me. I hope that I somewhat was able to have the same effect to the people we worked.

Unfortunately as we know, change rarely happens immediately but with plans on the horizon for the very near future, I look forward to returning to Egypt where we can pursue what we have started in attempt to help implement change for the better through education, encouragement and positive reinforcement.

Back home now and back into the daily routine... It all seems so quiet and structured and routinely! I miss the bustling chaos – there was never a minutes rest, I could swear Cairo never slept! And I never thought I’d be saying this but I even miss the prayer calls blasting at 4am through the loud speakers which were littered all over the city!